# Cyber Month 2026 and the Parallax hackathon (BMSCE IEEE Computer Society) > Cyber Month 2026 is a month of cybersecurity talks, workshops, competitions, a Capture The Flag (CTF) and Parallax, a 24-hour national-level cybersecurity hackathon with a ₹40,000 prize pool. It is organised by BMSCE IEEE Computer Society at BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE), Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka, India, from 17 October to 5 November 2026. ## Parallax hackathon: key facts - Name: Parallax (Parallax 2026, Parallax hackathon) - What: 24-hour national-level cybersecurity hackathon - When: 4:00 PM IST, Friday 30 October 2026 to 4:00 PM IST, Saturday 31 October 2026 - Venue for offline teams: PJA Block entrance, BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE), Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560019. Arrive before 3:30 PM on Friday 30 October. Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6LXL8aRLkjPym8D78 - Mode: hybrid. Each team takes part either fully offline at BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560019, or fully online from anywhere in India (a team cannot split between modes) - Prize pool: ₹40,000 - Team size: 2–4 per team - Eligibility: Students from any college; teams can mix colleges (national level) - Registration fee (per team): Per team, not per person. Offline: ₹310 if the team has at least one IEEE member, otherwise ₹450. Online: ₹200 if the team has at least one IEEE member, otherwise ₹290. - Food: provided - Problem statements: 3 released at 4:20 PM IST on Friday 30 October 2026 - Final submission: 2:00 PM IST on Saturday 31 October 2026. Submit the accessible GitHub repository URL, final commit hash and a two-line investor pitch; judging begins at the same time - Organiser: BMSCE IEEE Computer Society. In collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (ICB). In association with the Departments of Computer Applications, Computer Science and Engineering (ICB), Computer Science and Engineering, and Machine Learning. - Coordinators: Harshal Jain (+91 9011068966), Aqudam (+91 8073440874) - Details: https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/parallax-hackathon - Registration form: undefined - Short link: https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/parallax ## Parallax schedule (all times IST) Meals: Dinner Fri 8:00–9:00 PM; Midnight snacks Sat 12:00–12:15 AM; Breakfast Sat 8:00–9:00 AM; Lunch Sat 12:30–1:30 PM. ### Day 01 · Friday 30 October - 4:00–4:20 PM: Opening & inauguration. Welcome, the cybersecurity theme, event overview and guest address. - 4:20–4:40 PM: Challenge & rule briefing. 3 problem statements released; scope, permitted tools, weighted judging criteria, safe testing and submission format. - 4:40–5:00 PM: Team check-in & kickoff. Registrations, workspaces, online access, Git repository and mentor channels confirmed. The 24-hour reverse countdown begins at 4:50 PM. - 5:00–7:00 PM: Phase 1 · Discover & design. Define the threat, users, attack surface, architecture and minimum viable demo. Mentor round 1 (5:30–6:30 PM). - 7:00–7:15 PM: Checkpoint 1 · Concept. Log your problem, solution outline, roles and initial repo link. - 7:15–7:30 PM: Overnight access check. Approved overnight attendees confirmed; everyone else leaves campus by 7:30 PM. - 7:30–8:00 PM: Independent build. Refine plans and prepare your workspace. - 8:00–9:00 PM: Dinner. Fixed dinner break. - 9:00–11:45 PM: Phase 2 · Build the MVP. Implement working security controls and core workflows. Mentor round 2 (9:30–10:30 PM). - 11:45 PM–12:00 AM: Checkpoint 2 · MVP status. Quick log: working features, blockers, test plan and overnight priorities. ### Day 02 · Saturday 31 October - 12:00–12:15 AM: Midnight snacks. Short snack break. - 12:15–3:30 AM: Phase 3 · Develop & validate. Build further; controlled attack simulations, functional checks and security tests. - 3:30–4:00 AM: Rest & hydration break. Optional rest window. - 4:00–6:00 AM: Phase 3 · Continue testing. Fix defects, improve defences, capture evidence and prepare a fallback demo. - 6:00–6:30 AM: Morning refresh & re-entry. Non-staying attendees may return from 6:00 AM. - 6:30–8:00 AM: Phase 4 · Harden & document. Fix bugs; refine detection, privacy controls, test logs and deployment steps. Mentor round 3 (7:00–7:45 AM). - 8:00–9:00 AM: Breakfast. Fixed breakfast break. - 9:00 AM–12:30 PM: Final build & demo polish. Run acceptance tests, capture output evidence, complete documentation and prepare the working demo. - 12:30–1:30 PM: Lunch. Fixed lunch break. - 1:30–2:00 PM: Final checks & submission. Submit an accessible GitHub repository URL, the final commit hash and a two-line investor pitch. Test demo links before the deadline. - 2:00–3:20 PM: Final submission deadline & judging. Submissions close at 2:00 PM sharp and judging begins. Teams present their working solution, security evidence and answers to jury questions. - 3:20–3:55 PM: Awards & appreciation. Winners announced, prizes and group photo. - 3:55–4:00 PM: Official closing. Vote of thanks; Parallax closes at 4:00 PM. - 4:50 PM: 24-hour countdown reaches zero. The full 24-hour reverse clock ends. - The event opens at 4:00 PM on Friday. The 24-hour reverse countdown starts at 4:50 PM Friday and reaches zero at 4:50 PM Saturday. The official programme closes at 4:00 PM Saturday. - Three problem statements are released during the challenge briefing at 4:20 PM on Friday. - Final submissions close at 2:00 PM on Saturday and judging begins at the same time. Submit the GitHub repository URL, final commit hash and a two-line investor pitch before the cutoff. - Only participants approved to stay overnight remain on campus after 7:30 PM; others may return from 6:00 AM. - Cybersecurity testing is limited to intentionally vulnerable labs, synthetic data or expressly authorised targets. No unapproved real-world scanning, exploitation or phishing. ## Parallax problem statements ### PS-01: AGENTSHIELD - Track: Secure the Agent, Not Just the Prompt - Focus: AI-agent / MCP / tool-use security The problem: AI agents can read documents, call tools, search repositories and take actions on behalf of users. Untrusted emails, pages, retrieved files or tool responses may contain instructions intended to redirect an agent, disclose secrets or misuse a permitted tool. Traditional filtering of user prompts does not establish trustworthy boundaries for tool permissions. Challenge: Build a defensive security layer that monitors and constrains an AI agent or tool-driven assistant operating in a simulated environment. It must distinguish legitimate tasks from unauthorized instructions arriving through untrusted content, prevent at least one category of unsafe tool action, and provide an inspectable reason for its decision. Build in 24 hours: - Minimum working demo: one simulated agent, at least two tools or permissions, a policy enforcement point, and an audit log. - Security scenarios: a legitimate task, prompt-injected web or document content, an unauthorized sensitive-data request, and a tool invocation beyond permission. Use synthetic data only. - Show explicit allow, deny, or require-approval decisions; user confirmation for high-impact actions; and fail-closed behavior when confidence or policy is insufficient. - Optional extensions: MCP gateway, tool permission profiles, signed tool metadata, cross-agent audit trails, or a risk-aware approval queue. ### PS-02: PATCHPROOF - Track: Find the Flaw. Prove the Fix. - Focus: AppSec / SAST / secure patching The problem: Vulnerability scanners often produce noisy alerts, while remediation tools propose code changes that can break legitimate functionality. Smaller teams need evidence that a finding is real and that a patch removes the weakness without introducing regressions. Challenge: Build a tool or workflow that identifies security weaknesses in deliberately vulnerable sample software, proposes or applies a defensive fix, and validates that the fix stops the original exploit condition while preserving expected application behavior. AI assistance is optional; accuracy and verification matter more than model complexity. Build in 24 hours: - Select a supplied or public deliberately vulnerable practice app or local fixture, and document the precise in-scope files. - Identify at least two defensible weakness cases, such as unsafe input handling or broken access control, with evidence grounded in source or executable tests. - Provide a minimal patch or actionable diff for at least one verified issue, then run a regression and security test. - Display the severity rationale, exact affected code location, patch rationale and test status. ### PS-03: TRUSTLENS - Track: Catch the Impersonation - Focus: Phishing / social engineering / identity trust The problem: Phishing increasingly combines convincing wording, impersonation, shortened or confusing links, and multi-channel messages. Static keyword filters can misclassify legitimate messages and do not explain what evidence led to a warning. Indian users and small organizations also face multilingual and code-mixed messages. Challenge: Build a privacy-conscious defensive assistant that assesses suspicious messages or simulated identity claims, explains the risk signals, and recommends safe verification steps. Support at least two realistic message types or languages. Detect risk without automatically opening links, sending replies or taking actions on a user's behalf. Build in 24 hours: - Analyze a curated synthetic dataset containing benign and suspicious examples across any two channels or languages, such as email and SMS or English and Kannada/Hindi. - Extract defensible signals: sender or domain inconsistency, URL obfuscation, suspicious urgency, requests for credentials or financial action, and missing provenance. - Present a risk tier, cited textual evidence and clear verify-through-a-known-channel guidance; allow users to challenge a false positive. - Optional extension: synthetic voice or deepfake flagging, suspicious QR content, or a reporting dashboard. Deepfake detection is optional, not mandatory. ## Parallax FAQ ### What is Parallax? Parallax is a 24-hour national-level cybersecurity hackathon organised by BMSCE IEEE Computer Society at BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE), Bengaluru, as the flagship event of Cyber Month 2026. Teams build creative, impactful solutions to cybersecurity problems. ### When does Parallax start and end? Parallax runs for 24 hours, from 4:00 PM on Friday 30 October 2026 to 4:00 PM on Saturday 31 October 2026. ### Is Parallax online or offline? Both. Each team chooses one mode: the whole team takes part completely online, or the whole team takes part completely offline at BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. A team cannot split between online and offline. ### Can my teammates be from different colleges? Yes. A team can be from the same college, from different colleges, or a mix. Students from any college in India can take part. ### What is the team size? Teams have 2 to 4 members. ### Is the registration fee per person or per team? Per team. The fee is paid once for the whole team, not by each member. ### How much is the registration fee? Offline: ₹310 per team if the team has at least one IEEE member, otherwise ₹450 per team. Online: ₹200 per team if the team has at least one IEEE member, otherwise ₹290 per team. ### When does a team pay the IEEE member fee? If at least one member of the team is an IEEE member, the whole team pays the IEEE member fee. ### What is the prize pool? Parallax has a prize pool of ₹40,000. ### Where is the venue, and when should offline teams arrive? Offline teams meet at the PJA Block entrance, BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE), Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560019. Please arrive before 3:30 PM on Friday 30 October so check-in is done before the 4:00 PM start. Directions on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6LXL8aRLkjPym8D78 ### What is the schedule? Parallax opens at 4:00 PM on Friday 30 October. Three problem statements are released at 4:20 PM, and the 24-hour reverse countdown starts at 4:50 PM. Four build phases follow through the night. Final submissions close and judging begins at 2:00 PM on Saturday 31 October, awards begin at 3:20 PM, and the official programme closes at 4:00 PM. The countdown reaches zero at 4:50 PM. Meals: dinner 8–9 PM, midnight snacks 12–12:15 AM, breakfast 8–9 AM and lunch 12:30–1:30 PM. ### What must we submit by 2:00 PM? Submit an accessible GitHub repository URL, the final commit hash and a two-line investor pitch by 2:00 PM on Saturday. Judging begins at the same time, so test your repository and demo links before submitting. ### Can we stay on campus overnight? Only participants approved to stay overnight remain on campus after 7:30 PM on Friday. Others leave by 7:30 PM and may return from 6:00 AM on Saturday. ### Is food provided? Yes, food is provided for teams taking part offline at BMSCE. ### I'm new to hackathons. How do I prepare? Everyone starts somewhere, and first-timers are welcome. Use your creativity: watch a few YouTube videos on cybersecurity basics and on how hackathons work, brush up on the tools your team already knows, and think about real security problems you would like to solve. Form a team with a mix of skills, set up your laptop and GitHub before the start, and come ready to learn as you build. ### Can we use AI tools during the hackathon? Yes. Use AI to its fullest, but don’t build the whole project in one prompt and call it engineering. You can use Claude Code/Cowork, ChatGPT Codex, Grok bots, or any other AI tools. ### How do I register for Parallax? Registrations for Parallax are closed. ### Who organises Parallax? BMSCE IEEE Computer Society, in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (ICB), and in association with the Departments of Computer Applications, Computer Science and Engineering, and Machine Learning at BMS College of Engineering. ## All Cyber Month 2026 events - [Incident to Insight: Navigating Modern Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/incident-to-insight): 17 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE EMBS. How real security incidents are investigated, and what they teach us. Registration: closed. - [Cyber Clash](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/os-code): 22 Oct 2026, OS Code. OS Code's Cyber Month challenge. Registrations are closed. Registration: closed. - [CodeTrace: Re-engineering code and malware threats](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/codetrace): 23 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE WIE. Take malware apart and see how it really works. Registration: closed. - [Orbital Breach](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/singularity): 23 Oct 2026, Singularity. Singularity's Cyber Month challenge. Registrations are closed. Registration: closed. - [Secure Canvas: Design a poster on a cybersecurity theme](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/poster-design): 25 Oct – 28 Oct 2026, Sensored. Turn a cybersecurity idea into a poster. Registration: closed. - [Cyber Trace: A digital forensics investigation challenge](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/cyber-crime-scene): 28 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE PELS & IES. Act as forensic investigators and crack a fictional college cyber incident. Registration: closed. - [Cyber Awareness Workshop: Workshop 1](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/cyber-awareness-workshop): 28 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE Computer Society. The everyday habits that keep you safe online. Registration: opening soon. - [Don't Trust the Systems: An OS-based cybersecurity game](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/system-failure): 29 Oct 2026, Gradient. A simulated OS is under attack. Find the evidence and defend it. Registration: open (https://forms.gle/3P7jYbKrrpLkHiQ7A). - [Cyber Siege: A three-round cybersecurity team challenge](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/pes-cyber-challenge): 29 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE PES & SC. Link cyber risks to the SDGs, go head to head as attacker and defender, then survive a round of shifting alliances. Registration: open (https://forms.gle/22LMvCVLvZwX4N3C7). - [ONLYCTF Workshop: Get ready for the ONLYCTF competition](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/ctf-workshop): 29 Oct 2026, Sensored. Learn how Capture The Flag challenges work before the ONLYCTF competition. Registration: open (https://forms.gle/8znXZSNTvVADrUiV8). - [Parallax: 24-hour national-level cybersecurity hackathon](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/parallax-hackathon): 30 Oct – 31 Oct 2026, BMSCE IEEE Computer Society. Where innovation meets digital defence. 24 hours to build a cybersecurity solution. Registration: closed. - [Faculty Ideathon: Ideas from the faculty](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/faculty-ideathon): 3 Nov 2026, BMSCE IEEE Computer Society. Faculty bring their ideas to the table to close Cyber Month. Registration: opening soon. - [ONLYCTF Competition: The Cyber Month Capture The Flag](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/ctf): 5 Nov 2026, Sensored. Find the flags. Climb the leaderboard. Registration: open (https://forms.gle/8znXZSNTvVADrUiV8). ## Organiser - [BMSCE IEEE Computer Society](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/): the IEEE Computer Society student branch chapter of BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, established in 2021. Runs national-level hackathons, workshops, talks and outreach for engineering students. - Email: ieee.cs@bmsce.ac.in - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmsce-ieee-computer-society/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmsce_ieeecs/ ## Pages - [Cyber Month 2026 home](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth) - [Parallax hackathon](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/events/parallax-hackathon) - [Sitemap](https://www.bmsceieeecs.in/cybermonth/sitemap.xml)